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| Vic Damone, E.T., Becky Damone, and Dr. Sydney Taylor |
Today marks the 94th birthday of Shauna’s
mom, my mother-in-law, Ethel “E.T.” Taylor. Last night, with the help of yours truly, her producer, E.T. hosted her 106th weekly Martini Music show on Hunters Bay Radio.
On the show she features much of the music that was popular when she was a
young lady. The music she loves has clearly stood the test of time and is very
popular with our Sunday night listeners. The more I learn about the big band
music of artists like Artie Shaw, Harry James, Glenn Miller, as well as
vocalists like Vic Damone (for whom she and Shauna wrote the song “Every Time I
Look At You”), Dick Haymes, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, etc., the more I enjoy
it. E.T. has exposed me to a great deal of music about which I knew relatively
little, and for this I am grateful. Long after her beloved husband Sydney
passed on in 2013, and now well into her nineties, E.T. remains active and in
charge. She has somehow maintained her keen sense of humour, her dignity, and
her sharp wit, even while her independence has been gradually compromised. Last
summer, we did a promotional video while she was visiting us up at the lake. In
the video, she sat on my ATV while saying a few words to promote her Martini Music show. After her little
promo, she put on a helmet and said, “Hit the gas Opie!”. That was my cue to
drive her quickly off camera. That video is pretty funny, and it has been a big
hit for the station, receiving over 1300 views so far. Indeed, E.T. is a force
of nature, both a good sport and young at heart. She is a fine example of a
person who, faced with great adversity in her life, has managed to maintain her
dignity and her grace. As well, she has never stopped being curious, a trait she shares with her daughter. We love and respect E.T. very much, and wish her many
more years on this earth.
I’ve been a letter writer most of my adult life. I
love receiving letters in the mail, and I like to send them to other people. It
takes a little more time to write and post a letter, and in this era of
abbreviated communications, wherein people can’t even be bothered to write in
complete sentences, I think it says, “I care enough about you, the recipient,
to take the time to communicate in this personal way.” That said, I think
letter writing is a dying art. I write condolence letters, newsy letters to old
frienda I haven’t spoken to in years, angry letters to incompetent service providers,
funny letters to people who might need some humor in their life, inspirational
letters to people who might have lost their inspiration. My father was my inspiration, and he was legendary for
his letters. When he passed away, I kept many of the letters he had written on his
laptop. Though I don’t know some of the people with whom he was corresponding,
I love being reminded of his wit and charm. Like E.T., my dad was young at heart,
and he endeared himself to people generations younger than he with his ability
to communicate well on the written page.
Letter writing may soon be a dead art, because in so
many ways, communications have broken down in the world. As well, the postal service is driving
itself into extinction. Due to the most recent pre-holiday postal strike, I am
just now receiving the Christmas cards friends and family mailed to me weeks
ago. The other day, I needed to post a letter to the U.S., and realized that I
was out of postage stamps. In a week or so, the rate for sending a letter to
the United States will increase 7 cents. Currently, it costs $1.20. That seems
like an awful lot of money to send a letter. When I was a kid, a buck twenty
would buy me enough candy to make my teeth drop out. I will likely keep writing
letters regardless of the cost, because of the reasons I have noted above, but
I wonder how much longer I will be receiving them.
- Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2019 ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
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